Links: It's Finally Over Edition

Bethlehem Shoals (SLAM Online) cranks up the QuoteMonger and delivers the goods once again. This was the funniest thing I read all day and it wasn't even close.

David Berri (Wages of Wins) forecasts the NBA playoffs and examines the nucleus in Memphis.

Indy Star: A bear of a first NBA season for Mike Conley

The Grizzlies lost the lottery position tiebreaker with Minnesota yesterday. C'est la vie.

Empty the Bench has 5 Questions with Hakim Warrick and Mike Conley, Jr.

Hoops Addict lists Javaris Crittenton among their Players with Upside. They also have a nice profile of Marc Gasol.

The CA follows up with some quality thoughts of their own on "The Other Gasol".

City Pages (Minneapolis/St. Paul) has some good analysis of Rudy Gay.

You should let Mike Conley Jr. pick your bracket next year. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Section of FedEx Forum stands collapse -- With Leather says that Barry Zito is to blame.

Current and former Grizzlies Mike Miller, Stromile Swift and Chucky Atkins participated in the DUBS auto show to benefit Big Brothers/Big Sisters.

Check out Rudy Gay's new shoes - The Nike Viz Air


Remember way back at the beginning of the season when we gave our preview of the Grizzlies for CelticsBlog? Plenty of other bloggers gave previews of their teams, too. Well, now it is time to revisit those previews and see just how wrong we were and figure out where we went wrong.

NBA Reviews
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
Southwest Division
Northwest Division
Pacific Division

Ballhype Grades for the Previews

Links: Conley, Conley, Conley

Think that there might be a theme for today's links?

Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star reports that Michael Conley is staying prepared, despite the fact that he hasn't been on the floor through two games of the regular season.

Conley, who was still on the court nearly 45 minutes after his teammates had departed from their morning shootaround, is getting the majority of his work before, during and after practice because playing time has been sparse for the No. 4 pick in the summer's draft.
"This is where I'm getting all my work in," Conley said. "Of course I would love to be out there, but it's something right now that this team is in a good position. . . . I'm fine with the guys that are playing ahead of me. I'm trying to learn as much as I can while I'm on the bench."

Even though Conley is probably disappointed by not playing, he's not letting it affect how he practices or relates to his teammates and coaches.

Despite the high expectations of being the No. 4 pick, Conley has remained level-headed and keeps a positive attitude. Iavaroni said the rookie is usually one of the first players to arrive at practice and is routinely one of the last ones off the court.
"He's a young kid and you see what he's willing to do," the Grizzlies coach said. "To me, he's going to be a success because he's a hard worker. I think he's been hungry in practice. He's ready on the bench."

Over on SLAM Online, Nick Tuths lists Conley among his under-the-radar guys to keep an eye on during the onslaught of Kobe trade rumors, Knick-related fiascos and officiating turmoil. A brief snippet of what was said:

Conley is already (yeah I said it) one of the best ball handlers in the NBA. Even if he struggles at first, to get minutes with Damon Stoudamire and Kyle Lowry on the roster, expect him to force himself into the class of Deron and CP3 as the best young Points in the NBA.

Finally, over on Buzzer Beater, Damon Agnos wants to know why Conley hasn't been playing in his pregame writeup on the upcoming meeting between the Sonics and the Grizz. Fortunately, Chip was there to let him in on the inside scoop.

Links: Game Review, Media Guide, D-Wash

Chris Herrington delivers again with a quality post game review on Beyond the Arc.

SLAM Online had some fun at the expense of the Memphis Grizzlies media guide cover art They picked on the T'Wolves guide, too.

Lastly, there was a nice article about Darius Washington's return to Memphis on MySanAntonio.com.